Crossing the line
by 1Gabs
Summary: Sara and Greg take on a case for dayshift with disastrous results for Sara causing Grissom to make an obvious realization! CSI storyline focusing on character relationship!
1. Chapter 1

Note: Just my take on how Grissom and Sara might have got together, cause I so wish they had shown that in the show! I actually tried to make a CSI story line, however the focus is on the relationship.

Warnings for mild violence and language.

I don't own these characters, I'm not making any money, this is just for fun! (Oh and btw I have no forensic knowledge that isn't tv based so please excuse any ignorance or mistakes, I did my best!!)

Most important- All characters and events are purely fictional!!

Please review, I'd love to know what you think (be kind!) :)

Enjoy the story!

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"Tell me again, why are we helping Ecklie with his case load?" Greg complained, frowning as he and Sara made their way in the Tahoe to their suspect's house. Sara couldn't help but smile as she swerved off the main road into suburbia, where the streets were lined with neat rows of trees and freshly cut lawns. 'I'm so glad I don't live like this', she thought as she made the turn into the next identical street. Suburbia was fine for some people, but it just wasn't her.

"You wanted out of the lab"

"Yeah, but not working day shift with Ecklie" As they pulled up outside the smooth paved driveway, leading to the impressive brick house they noted the LVPD officer waiting outside the door looking bored.

"Everyone else was on a case, we just happened to be the ones that closed our last case first"

"Admit it; you don't like it any more than I do"

"Quit whinging Greg" He pulled a face, despite her good natured banter. He couldn't' put his finger on it but something was bothering him about the case. Possibly it was because the prospect of taking on Ecklie's cast off case because he felt there was another more politically viable one to take on, annoyed him.

"Ecklie said the husband looks good for this" Greg decided to push his concerns aside and get into the game. He knew Sara wouldn't take any slack from him, and despite the fact he'd pretty much shed his newbie status, he still liked to pull out the stops to impress her.

Sara responded with an amused look as she took in the surroundings of their case.

"Grissom doesn't let us assume anything Greg, you know that". Despite the fact that taking the case meant having to work a shift for Ecklie, Sara was glad Grissom had asked that they take it on. A woman had been badly beaten, and was unconscious in hospital. If Ecklie deemed the case unworthy, she was happy to take up the slack with gusto and bring justice for this poor woman. Seeing that Greg still looked disconcerted, Sara reached out and held him back for a moment.

"Greg, I don't like Ecklie any more than you do, but this case isn't about Ecklie. Forget any conclusions Ecklie came to. This is our case, and we'll follow the evidence until we find her attacker". Greg couldn't help a slight smirk.

"Is that Sara or Sara channelling Grissom?" Sara rolled her eyes at him and continued up the path.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that".

"Officer Murdock?" Sara read the name tag of their bored looking escort waiting at the door.

"I guess Brass had more important things to do to day". Sara commented light heartedly. Murdock's look was unimpressed as he rapped his fist against the door.

"This isn't an interrogation you're collecting evidence. You don't need a detective for that". Sara looked taken aback by his rudeness but refrained from beginning an argument, hardly professional in front of a suspect. Mr Claymour opened the door wearily as one who has no choice, but didn't object to them coming in and soon left them to it as he returned to his seat in front of the Tv. Murdock stood by looking entirely disinterested as Greg and Sara began the second examination of the scene.

Ecklie's team had done the preliminary investigation but now that new CSI's were called to the case it was important that they inspect the scene for themselves, comparing evidence previously found to anything new.

"Here's something Ecklie's people missed" Sara spoke quietly to Greg having examined the Claymour's bedroom.

"Don't tell me" Greg couldn't help a mischievous grin, he couldn't wait to take this back to the lab.

"Unknown donor"

"Unknown donor" Sara agreed softly.

"Unless Mr Claymour was lying to Ecklie about his surgery"

"Whew" Greg whistled.

"Nice catch"

"We've got evidence of someone else being in this house" As Sara went to talk to Mr Claymour and have a look outside the house, Greg began collecting samples of all the rubbish in the house.

As he was finishing up he noticed the sound of a man's raised voice coming from outside. Ecklie's report had mentioned the Claymour's neighbour to the left was Tlevechi, coming to the door now he could see that Sara was engaged in conversation with him, except Tlevechi seemed to be becoming more and more aggressive. He looked around for a moment for Murdock before moving quickly towards Sara just as Tlevechi took a threatening step in, grabbing her arm roughly.

"Hey" Greg yelled out at him, running towards them as Sara pushed him back and Tlevechi spat on the ground in front of her. But as he made it to her side Tlevechi had returned to his house and slammed the door, a last insult hurled at them before the door was shut. Watching Sara, Greg could tell she was surprised, and was still trying to process what had happened in her mind. He didn't like me very much" Sara managed to force a smile as she swabbed the spit off the ground.

"I love it when a suspect co-operates". She grinned at Greg as she bagged the evidence, trying to ignore the worried look on his face.

"Where was Murdock?"

"Greg it was fine, I had it under control".

"He should have been here Sara, what if the guy had got rough?!!"

"You don't think I can take care of myself Greg?"

"That's not going to work on me. Not this time. We should do something about that guy".

"We will Greg. We'll go back to the lab and get him with our evidence" She grabbed her kit and headed for the car.

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Next Chapter on the way soon! (any day now!). 


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey" Sara came into the evidence room and joined Greg at the table where he was sorting through the garbage.

"Are you finished sulking?" Greg shot her a look as he continued sifting through some crumpled paper that was leading to nothing but trash.

"I've got nothing here"

"Good thing you've got me then" She grinned at him holding up her results.

"I have some interesting news that might cheer you up. The DNA results came back from our unknown donor. We got a match" Greg's mood was instantly lifted.

"You got a hit through CODIS?"

"Better than that, we got a hit from the next door neighbour".

"Whoa"

"I'm going to get Murdock and have a chat with Tlevechi". She grinned at him as she made her escape out the door.

"Keep up the good work with that trash Oscar".

"Funny, Funny" Greg called back as she left the room.

"Everyone's a comedian". He thought for a moment then ran to catch up with her in the hall.

"Hey Sara, wait. Does it have to be Murdock? Can't you get Brass to go with?"

"Brass is working a case Greg, we take who we were given".

"Yeah, well give me a call when you finish the interview. You know, so you can let me know if you find anything".

"You checking up on me Greg?"

"Humour me, just this once ok?" She studied his face for a moment, seeing the concern that lay in his usually jovial eyes.

"Just this once" She responded gently, giving him a reasurring smile before continuing down the hall.

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Greg stood outside the door to Grissom's office, watching him examining something through his microscope. He was slightly nervous both of what Grissom would say and how Sara would react if she found out.

"Greg why are you hovering? Aren't you supposed to be off the clock now?"

"I need to talk to you about the Claymour case"

"Ecklie gave you the case Greg it has nothing to do with me".

"Yeah I know that" He responded, unable to keep a little annoyance from his tone, this seemed to have caught Grissom's attention. He frowned as he saw the uncharacteristically dark expression on Greg's face.

"Do you have a problem Greg?" With a quick glance at the door he decided to take the plunge.

"CSI's are meant to have a detective with them on a case right?"

"Of course Greg, especially in a case like this. You know that. You didn't go into a suspects home without back up did you?". Grissom had lost all interest in his microscope and was watching Greg carefully to gage his reactions. If he was honest, putting Greg and Sara together alone on a case of suspected spouse abuse had made Grissom slightly concerned. He trusted his team implicitly, but there were some cases which struck a nerve with each of them and in cases such as this Sara ran a risk of getting emotionally involved. As her supervisor he didn't shield her from these cases, as that would be disrespectful to her and her capabilities, but he made sure the lines of communication were kept open to offer support where needed. Having Sara and Greg under Ecklie's supervision, a man he didn't trust, was disconcerting to say the least.

"Murdock wasn't exactly on the ball" Greg muttered. "Sara was outside and engaged in conversation with the Claymour's next door neighbour. Murdock was supposed to be supervising; he left the scene without telling anyone". Greg's hesitation told him more than his words.

"Are you saying the neighbour got violent with Sara?"

"No, no not exactly violent…. He was a little rough".

"Intimidation and domination can be considered violent acts Greg".

"He was a little more physical than that" Grissom starred at him, recognising in himself the feeling of mounting anger.

"Sara should have reported this" It wasn't necessary for him to ask Greg why she hadn't, he already knew the answer.

"You know Sara. She wanted to get back and process the evidence, focus on the victim"

"I know" Grissom responded gently.

"Have you got anything that leads you to suspect the neighbour apart from his obvious violent temper?"

"His DNA on the bed sheets. Sara just finished talking to him now with Murdock, she said he admitted to having an affair but we don't have anything yet that puts him at the house on the actual night of the assault".

"Having an affair doesn't necessarily mean he beat her. What do you think?"

"Well, maybe the husband found out about the affair and beat his wife, or maybe she ended the affair with Tlevechi and he wasn't happy about it".

"I'll talk to Brass when he comes in tonight, I'll have him take a look at the case and whether he thinks another detective might be appropriate by the start of your next shift".

"Thanks boss" Greg gave him a quick salute and was rewarded with a smile. He appreciated Greg's unflappable loyalty.

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More on the way soon!


	3. Chapter 3

At the start of the next shift Grissom began his usual rounds, surprised to find that neither Sara nor Greg had come in yet. He'd half expected to find Sara having worked over time through day shift. He made the usual stops to check on trace and dna results then made his way to the break room in search of the other part of his team, now working under the supervision of Catherine Willows.

"Have any of you seen Brass around?" Catherine shook her head as she took a much needed gulp of coffee.

"He should be here soon though he's the lead on our case". Grissom pondered this information for a moment.

"Have any of you come across an LVPD officer named Murdock?"

"Not that I can think of" Warrick answered as Catherine nodded her agreement.

"I've never come across him. What's up boss you get stuck with a rookie?". Nick asked. Smiling with satisfaction as he managed to throw his empty coffee cup across the room and directly into the awaiting bin.

"Greg and Sara are working an abuse case for Ecklie, Greg voiced a concern that Murdock wasn't doing his job". Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Trust Ecklie". He muttered sarcastically.

"They still need a competent detective on the case. Shouldn't someone like Vega or Brass be handling a case like that rather than a rookie?" Warrick nodded to the door where Brass was moving quickly towards them.

"Speaking of which…." They fell silent as Brass entered, his face flushed and angry, cell phone hard at his ear.

"You call me as soon as you know something. No one goes near the scene till I get there with my investigators".

"Everything ok Jim?" Brass met Grissom's eyes then looked away. It was worse than the dreaded feeling he felt when he had to deliver terrible news. Because this time it was personal to all of them.

"An aggravated assault case was just called in". He wiped a hand over his face in frustration.

"There's no easy way to say this….Sara was found badly beaten in her apartment, she'd been rushed to hospital".

"What?!!"

"No way man" Warrick and Nick had both sat up, both staring at him unable to believe what he was saying, turning to Grissom for instructions.

"She's alive!" Brass added quickly.

"No major injuries"

"What happened?" Grissom's voice was low, his mind trying to deal with the blow this news was causing".

"The officer on the scene's keeping everyone out. A neighbour called in the disturbance, she heard a shot fired…. She said she thinks that's what made the guy bolt. She thinks Sara must have fired the gun".

"Damn right she did" Nick stood up ready to move.

"What are we waiting for?" Catherine could see the shock that had settled in over her boss, she moved over to Grissom and put her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Hey, we're all yours now. Tell us what you want us to do and we'll go and get that bastard". Grissom took a deep breath, forcing his emotions down with effort. This was suddenly affecting them all and he had to get them all through this, Sara being his top priority now.

"Brass, he didn't…."

"No Gil" Brass's voice was hard.

"Thank God he never had the chance".

"Warrick, I want you to get Greg here and process the results of the Claymour case, you should have enough to get a warrant on Tlevechi now. I think theres an obvious connection between the two cases but tread carefully, let the evidence lead you, the Claymour case may be unrelated. Keep Ecklie out of this as much as possible, if he finds you, direct him to me".

"I hear you" Warrick made a move as Grissom turned to the rest of his team.

"Catherine is it possible for you to……"

"My case was almost wrapped up, Sophia can handle the close, where do you want me?" She saw him hesitate for a moment then suggested gently.

"Why don't you go to the hospital with Brass, Nick and I can handle Sara's apartment" She added squeezing his arm as she and Nick headed for the door.

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	4. Chapter 4

Grissom and Brass stood outside Sara's room, Grissom with his kit in hand.

"So you think this is related to the Tlevechi case?" Brass asked, more to break the silence than anything else. His instincts told him there was no doubt about it, but he was glad that despite the emotional involvement Grissom's team would handle the evidence professionally and with an open mind. Grissom didn't bother to respond, he waited patiently for the nurse to exit the room, giving them the cue to go in.

"How is she?" He stepped forward as a young nurse bustled out of the room smiling encouragingly at him.

"Miss Sidle's going to be just fine. She was lucky, no internal organs damaged, no internal or critical injuries. Bruising on the ribs that will painful for the next few weeks, most of the wounds were superficial. The sprained wrist and external bruising will all heal in time. She got lucky" The nurse repeated, flashing her teeth at him once more.

"Not exactly how I'd describe lucky" Brass informed her as Grissom took a breath and pushed open the door to Sara's room.

"Wow, the head supervisor's come to process me, this must be a high profile case". Sara forced a smile onto her face at the sight of Grissom, but found it immensely difficult to keep up with the pain coursing through her body.

"You didn't want to send in my acting supervisor?" Grissom found a response to this too difficult, the sight of her bruises almost too hard for him to stand. Instead he reached out and grasped her uninjured hand tightly in his, his own way of expressing how he felt.

"Are you ok?"

"Of course" She gave him a smile, determined not to show the weakness she felt, but the compassion in his eyes was almost too much to bear.

"Sara I'm so sorry" His hand gripped hers tighter, and he looked away for a moment unsure of what else to do or say. Feeling a little overwhelmed herself Sara squeezed his hand in response, then brought them back to safer ground.

"You might want to get some finger nail scrapings, I think I managed to get some DNA", Brass had held back for a moment, but now came forward offering a smile of his own.

"Good to see you gave the bastard what for…. Did you see what he looked like?" Sara shook her head, wincing a little as Grissom began to gently swab her fingers.

"He was wearing a black ski mask, black outfit, all very unoriginal".

"Don't ya hate when that happens?" She smiled at Brass, appreciating the light hearted banter. It was hard on all of them, but they needed to stay professional and do their jobs.

"He must have been waiting for me when I came home. Came up behind me as I entered the apartment, everything after that was a blur. We struggled, he was carrying a knife……" She broke of as the memory came flooding back.

"He had the knife to my throat and I kicked him. I think he dropped the knife and it got kicked under the sofa as we struggled, he just kept coming. I think I managed to scratch him hard enough to get DNA" Brass shook his head.

"Only a CSI could be thinking about how to get the most evidence out of her attacker while fighting for her life, unbelievable".

"He still managed to put me in hospital"

"Don't you worry, we'll get him Sara" He glanced over at Grissom.

"You ready? Warrick just paged, he's got enough for me to come down there and drag Tlevechi in for questioning". Grissom turned to Sara, locking eyes with her as he gathered his kit ready to leave.

"We'll find this guy, I promise".

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	5. Chapter 5

In the lab he found Catherine and Nick working hard at their evidence. Greg standing close by, his expression down cast. As he walked over to them Catherine caught his eye, and communicated the message that Grissom had already been prepared for.

"What did you find".

"Not a lot" Nick's voice was hard.

"There's no prints on the knife, it's a standard pocket knife that could'a come from anywhere"

"Trace is running blood sample's from the scene, apart from that we don't have much. How's Sara doing?" Catherine asked.

"She's going to be fine". Grissom's voice was tight.

"We might be able to get some of her attackers DNA from finger nail scrapings". He turned and looked at Greg.

"Greg you shouldn't even be in here. You're on the Tlevechi case and that's the only evidence you should be concerned about". Greg looked up at him, stung by the hardness in his voice. Grissom closed his eyes for a moment, gathering quick perspective. Greg had been the one to inform him there was a problem, it wasn't fair to taken this out on him. He just couldn't bring himself to admit that it this point.

"I think it's time we interviewed Tlevechi"

Grissom entered the room without a look at Brass, knowing that Nick, Catherine and Greg would have headed straight for the other room to listen. Warrick moved quickly out of the way as Grissom stepped in and moved close to the suspect. Brass moved to take the lead but stopped with surprise as Grissom raised his hand for silence from the detective. Tlevechi was slouching in his chair, arrogance eminating for his very being.

"What happened to the brunette? I had fun with her" Grissom eye's narrowed, surprising himself more than anyone when he took the bait.

"What did you do to my CSI?" Tlevechi sniggered.

"Having trouble looking after your woman? What was her name again? This pretty young thing that came to see me… oh yeah, she was nice, real nice" He drawled making a gesture that sent blood roaring to Grissom's head.

"You piece of …." Brass raged, as Grissom moved closer, the sheer anger coursing through him recognisable only in his voice.

"We have you for the assault on Mrs Claymour".

Tlevechi shrugged and smiled the arrogant self satisfied smile of so many criminals before him. "That don't mean I'm the one after your woman. When he find's her again, well hey, she looked like she'd be fun" Grissom slammed the table so hard he felt his bones bruise, making Tlevechi jump and the rest of his team wince both in sympathy and surprise by such an uncharacteristic display of anger.

"Oooh, hit a nerve with that one did I? You getting a picture of……" Tlevechi's sentence was cut short as Grissom moved to grab him. Warrick managed to anticipate his bosses action and pull him back, as Brass yelled for the cop to take him back to lockup.

"Grissom what the hell are you playing at? The last thing we need is you taken off the case. He was trying to piss you off and he succeeded, what's the matter with you?" Brass was staring at him, surprised to have witnessed the man renowned for keeping his cool, loose it. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so shocked, considering he knew the lengths Grissom would go to for his team. And Sara Sidle had always been something of a weak spot for Grissom.

Grissom's breathing was coming fast and the blood pounded in his ears, not even noticing the rest of his team enter the room, Grissom fought hard against an almost irrepressible urge to grab the chair and smack it over the suspects head as he was dragged from the room.

"Hey" Catherine's voice and hand on his arm pulled him back to the group now standing almost protectively around him. He knew they'd all felt the same emotion, but he knew his was born out of something even deeper than comradeship, team mate and friendship. Something that had been tormenting him for sometime, niggling in the back of his mind.

"Grissom he's not going anywhere till we have enough to put him away for good" Grissom shook his head, his mind working over time as he thought back over the evidence.

"He was playing with us. He's too cocky. He must know that we still don't have enough to pin him for the Claymour assault, and we had no evidence that can put Tlevechi in Sara's apartment."

"Maybe he was never in her apartment. What if he hired someone to cover the tracks in his first crime?" Nick shrugged his shoulders at the raised eyebrows his suggestion was getting.

"Maybe he realised Sara and Greg were close to getting him, so he tried to throw us off the scent."

"It's wacky but not impossible, and we can't afford to rule that theory out" Catherine turned to Grissom, letting him take the lead once more.

"Catherine I want you and Warrick back at the house until you find something. Greg I want you here, I want to know everything there is to know about this guy including whether his DNA matches the DNA from Sara's finger nail scrapping. Brass you put as many men on this as you can get and you search whatever my team comes up with. Where not clocking off until we get this guy"

"No arguments here"

"Oh and stay away from Ecklie as much as possible, we do everything by the book and we cover our tracks, but I don't want him getting involved. Warrick gave him a nod and headed for the door with Catherine in toe. Greg moved off to do his thing leaving a slightly shell shocked Nick and Brass standing with Grissom.

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	6. Chapter 6

Nick entered Sara's room feeling slightly uneasy. The hardest part was having to see one of his team mates having been hurt.

"Hey, how you holding up? Nurse outside said they're checking you out" He hesitated as the anger of seeing her bruises welled up inside him, making him want to march back to the lab and interview Tlevechi himself. As if guessing his thoughts she gave him a weak smile.

"You shoulda seen the other guy". He managed a genuine smile at that, he should have known she wouldn't take this lying down… so to speak. He'd already had a word from the nurse who'd explained to him how difficult she'd been so far, refusing any help to get ready to leave. How she'd managed to get herself dressed with a sprained wrist and bruised ribs…Nick could only imagine it had been painful.

"So what's up Nicky? Have you come to give me a ride home?"

"Actually I was thinking we could go back to the lab, everyone's working on the case but they all want to see you and make sure you're ok". She gave a tired smile, reaching out for her bag and trying hard not to wince in pain.

"I think I'll just go home Nick. I don't really want the whole lab…." She didn't finish the sentence but he knew where she was going with it. She didn't want people seeing her like this. Nick reached over and took her bag firmly away.

"Sara we're your friends and we care about you. You can be as tough as you want but you've gotta learn to accept help sometimes. Now would be that time".

"Tlevechi wasn't the guy was he? You don't know who it was" Nick sighed, unable to meet her gaze.

"No he wasn't. Greg called a few minutes ago. He finished running your finger nail scrappings, there's no match to Tlevechi".

"So he's still out there somewhere….and this is your answer to police protection?".

"Sara please just come back to the lab for a while. You might even be able to process something! We're gonna get this guy…. Hey, come here" he stopped at the sight of her face, reaching out to give her a gentle hug.

"I've been there Sara, I know how you feel. It scares the hell out of you. And I know you don't like being scared but it happens to all of us at some point". He let her pull away and get herself together. He knew how important it was to her to remain strong.

"I know, I know, we'll pretend it was just the medication" His smile received a watery one in return.

"Thanks Nick"

"Hey don't worry, I won't mention it, your secrets safe with me tough guy". He slung her bag over his shoulder and held out an arm to her.

"Let's go see how Greg's doing, he was so pissed I was the one that got to come and see you".

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As Nick drove them back to the lab he couldn't help but smile as he noticed Sara drifting to sleep beside him. He'd deliberately taken the scenic route out through desert in the hope of giving Sara time to relax a little. The sound of his phone ringing surprised him and he quickly answered slightly annoyed whoever it was had succeeded in waking Sara up.

"Stokes"

"Nick its Warrick, we've got something here. Brass ran a check on Murdock, you're not going to believe this" Nick frowned into the phone, his gut instantly telling him he wasn't about to like the news.

"Murdock was suspended a week ago for bad conduct, pending investigation. He was suspected of taking a pay off to cover some bad gambling debts. We traced the payee into his bank account... guess who Murdock owed a favour".

"Oh you've gotta be…."

"What? What is it Nick?" Sara was now sitting up straight and alert, her tired eyes open wide.

"Nick, Grissom wants you to get in here quick, Brass's sending out an escort as we speak".

"It's ok Warrick, we're heading back to civilisation now".

"Take care of her buddy, I'll see you when you get back here". Nick glanced over at Sara as he hung up his cell, and pressed his foot down a little harder on the gas. Now it seemed to him like taking the senic route was a bad idea. Grissom would be worried, thinking of them out on a lonely desert road without much cover. Not that he expected anything to happen out here, but perhaps this wasn't the brightest of ideas.

"The good news is, we think we know who the bastard is"

"And the bad news is we haven't caught him?" Nick gave a dry smile.

"Can't get anything past you". He filled her in on Warrick's phone call, feeling terrible for the flash of pain he saw go through her expression.

"I wonder how much he got for it" Sara wondered quietly, almost to herself.

"How much is it worth to get rid of a nosey CSI?".

"Sara, …….damn! Watch where you're going" Nick suddenly yelled out to the car behind him. He glanced back into the review mirror to see the car once more speeding up, again smacking into the back of them. Nick grabbed his phone punching in Brass's number.

"Brass it's Nick, we've got trouble out here. You think Murdock caught on to the fact we like him for this?".

"Can you hang in there for five minutes Nick?" He glanced back again, cursing as the jolt slammed them in their seats once more.

"Make it three man".

"We're coming Nick".

"Nick watch out". He let out a shout and swerved quickly, narrowly avoiding a random car in their path, Murdock still close behind.

"We're going to get through this". The car slammed once more this time from the side causing Nick to loose control and skid out over the road, not realising that he wasn't the only one to loose control.

"Hold on" They spun round a few times while Nick fought to stay on the road, then suddenly the car hit another with a sickening crash.

"Nick?" Sara gasped in pain, amazed to find that she was alive, slowly experimenting how much she could move. The pain running through her neck was bad, but she managed to turn and examine Nick, noticing that he too did not appear badly injured and was also able to move himself. They'd been lucky, relatively, the brunt of the force had been taken in the back of the car. Slowly and carefully Sara managed to undo her seat belt, shouldering her door open as she moved round to his side of the car.

"I'm ok" Nick muttered, pulling himself out of the wound down window, joining Sara in examining the driver of the car they hit…. the car that look just like…...

"Whoa" Nick grabbed his gun suddenly aiming it at the car.

"LVPD Man"

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	7. Chapter 7

"Hey" Grissom looked up from his desk as Brass came into the room, seating himself in a chair opposite.

"You look like shit!" Brass commented.

"Hell of a few days we've had. I can't believe one of us almost landed on that autopsy table again". Grissom shuddered inwardly at the thought. There'd not long ago been a case where the victim had reminded him of Sara, this case had been too close for comfort.

"You know this is what happens when you lend your team out to Ecklie. If he'd got to Sara he would have finished Greg off next no doubt...I'm joking" Brass held his hands out placatingly as Grissom winced.

"Bad joke. I'm sorry. Hey it's too bad Murdock didn't go after Ecklie while he had the chance" This Brass noticed at least got a raised eyebrow from the silent man in front of him.

"We're lucky Sara's tougher than Murdock expected. We're also lucky Murdock was stupid enough to attempting shunting two LVPD crime scene experts off the road, the driver being a Texan jock. Not too bright". Brass continued to talk noticing Grissom seemed unable to comment.

"Everyone underestimates the scientists. Mind you the way Nick drives…. Murdock's lucky he's not going home in a body bag. You know you should'a seen it, we arrive on the scene, Nick and Sara are barely able to stand, weapons out, standing over the car…." He trailed off, noting he'd lost Grissom somewhere during the first part of the conversation.

"Hey, pay attention, this is important. You know Gil we deal with death everyday, it's just a real wake up call when it hits so close to home". Grissom sat back sensing there was more, waiting for Brass to finish.

"If you shut out everyone that you care about. Or worse still, don't let yourself care at all, you're going to live a very lonely life Grissom".

"Do you have a point Jim?"

"Yeah I do" he stood up, passing a set of keys across the table to him.

"Life is short Grissom, and every now and then you might want to go out and live it!!. Oh and tell Sara Mrs Claymour came out of her coma, she's gonna make it. She's mighty grateful too".

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	8. Chapter 8

As Sara opened the door to her dark and empty flat the feeling of loneliness and isolation was almost consuming. She walked into her kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge. 'If you can't have a drink after almost being killed...twice' she thought, staring listlessly around the empty apartment. Despite herself a shiver ran down her spine. The feeling of him coming up behind her…. This is stupid she told herself. Murdock is behind bars. A man who all it took for him to come after her was a few thousand dollars. She stood with the bottle in her hand feeling lost and alone.

The sound of knocking on her door sent her blood rushing through her veins, dropping the bottle with a sickening crash she had her gun ready, her whole body shaking.

From outside the door the sound of breaking glass sent Grissom on high alert, without thinking he used Sara's spare key to open the door, his heart clenching as he found the cause of the noise. Sara was standing in the kitchen surrounded by broken glass, a shocked expression on her face. He couldn't blame her for being jumpy after the few days' she'd just had.

"Brass asked me to bring these over to you" She lowered her weapon willing her heart rate to return to normal, yet the butterfly feeling in her stomach seemed to be increasing.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was forceful, full of nothing but bravado, trying to cover up the fear and loneliness. He was the last person she wanted to appear weak in front of. But she couldn't deny he was the one person she really wanted to be here right now. For her comment she got the gentle but reproving look Grissom managed to give so well as he moved towards her, gently taking her weapon out of her shaking hands.

"Sara, you know most criminals don't bother knocking... I bought you some dinner, I thought you might be hungry. No meat I promise". He held up the bag he'd brought with him, gently taking her hand and pulling her towards him and away from the mess on the floor.

"Have dinner with me" He almost smiled at the confusion on her face as she looked up at him.

She'd once said that to him before and he'd been the one that didn't know how to respond. He hadn't felt that he could risk everything they had from their friendship to their working relationship. But now he realised if he didn't acknowledge his feelings, he would regret it. He only hoped he wasn't wrong in thinking that she might still feel the same way.

"I once told you I didn't know what to do with this….. I do now. I finally figured it out, I'm just sorry it took this long"

"What changed?" Even as she asked the question, part of her already knew the answer. Sometimes it was just a look he gave, a gesture he made, or his touch, that was enough to still leave her hoping.

"I don't know" He answered honestly. Despite herself Sara couldn't help thinking how cute he looked this confused. He wasn't used to expressing his feelings, and she knew he was uncomfortable, that's why it meant even more to her.

"All the time you've been right here and I've been afraid of losing you. Of hurting our friendship, our working relationship. But when I heard you were in hospital and I was scared I'd almost……" He broke off unable to continue, willing her to understand what he was trying to say.

"I don't want to lose you Sara; I care too much for you". For a moment he was concerned she was going to tell him to leave. Not that he could have blamed her, maybe he had missed his only chance. Then as he looked into her face he saw with relief that she was smiling at him, she took his hand and squeezed gently as she leaned into his strong embrace.

"Are you sure you're ready to take a chance?" She asked, unable to keep the uncertainty from her voice. Grissom's answering smile was enough to reassure her as he leaned in whispering;

"Do you need to see the evidence?" then he pulled her to him and kissed her.

THE END

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I hope you liked the story, it was my first crime scene drama story and I did try to make it interesting!! Please review, I'd love to know what you think.

Also thank you to everyone who encouraged me all the way through, I hope you liked the ending as well:)


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